Lakes Weekly Bulletin

What Lakes Weekly Bulletin does

Lakes Weekly Bulletin (LWB) is a weekly community newspaper serving the Queenstown Lakes District of New Zealand, founded in 2005 and operated as part of Queenstown Media Group (QMG). The publication distributes 3,500 printed copies each week and reaches an estimated 13,250 weekly readers across Queenstown, Arrowtown, Frankton, Five Mile, Remarkables Park, Glenda Drive, and Wanaka. Content categories span local news, crime reporting (Crimeline), community events, arts and culture, business, opinion, gardening, horoscopes, and podcasts, with a content archive dating back to 2022.

The publication operates a hybrid print-and-digital model. Print copies are hand-delivered to every business in core Queenstown areas on Tuesdays and made available at service stations, libraries, drop boxes, and supermarkets across the Queenstown basin and Wanaka. Digital access runs through the publication's website (lwb.co.nz), the content archive, and The Queenstown App (a wholly-owned QMG mobile application), with weekly issues hosted on Issuu from Monday afternoons. Sister publications extend the franchise into adjacent verticals: Lakes Business (monthly business coverage), a Summer Edition, and themed annual editions including Women in Business.

Revenue is generated predominantly through advertising. Local businesses purchase display ads and classified advertising for placement inside the curated editorial environment, and the publication operates a job board (Lakes Jobs) powered by JobFix, a wholly-owned QMG subsidiary. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based. LWB operates as a privately held company within QMG alongside The Queenstown App and JobFix; no external investment, private equity, or public ownership signals were identified in the available data.

Name

Lakes Weekly Bulletin

Legal name

Queenstown Media Group

Website

https://lwb.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lakes Weekly Bulletin is a New Zealand weekly community newspaper serving the Queenstown Lakes District with print and digital editions. Advertising-supported, it reaches 13,250 weekly readers with local news, classifieds, and community content via lwb.co.nz and the Queenstown App.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper / Community Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJADAB

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/News Publishing (Newspapers, Digital Newsrooms, Wire Services)

SECONDARYMPAJADAG

Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/News Publishing (Newspapers, Digital Newsrooms, Wire Services)

SECONDARYMPAJAEAM

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Magazine Publishing (Consumer & B2B/Trade Magazines)

Keywords

• Community newspaper
• Local news
• Classified advertising
• Print publication
• Regional journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Queenstown

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Advertising: The publication generates revenue primarily through advertising. Local businesses advertise through display ads and classified ads placed in the weekly publication. The Lakes Weekly is part of Queenstown Media Group, which is Queenstown's leading locally owned and operated media company.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lakes Weekly Bulletin publishes a weekly community newspaper covering local news, arts, culture, community stories, and business news for the Queenstown/Lakes District region of New Zealand. The publication is delivered every Wednesday in print and is also available digitally through the Queenstown Media Group (QMG) platform. It serves as a local advertising medium for regional businesses and a trusted source of community information for residents.

Product overview

Lakes Weekly Bulletin is a local community newspaper serving the Queenstown-Lakes District with a single unified print and digital publication model. The core product is the weekly Lakes Weekly Bulletin newspaper (Issue 1057 is the current edition), supplemented by sister publications including Lakes Business (monthly business coverage) and seasonal Summer Editions. Additional offerings include a jobs board (Lakes Jobs, powered by JobFix), classified advertising services, and a digital archive of past issues. The publication is part of Queenstown Media Group (QMG) and maintains a weekly print circulation of 3,500 copies with an estimated readership of 13,250. Content categories span news, community, arts and culture, business, opinion, crime reporting, gardening, horoscopes, and podcasts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lakes Weekly Bulletin (Print Edition) A weekly community newspaper in print format covering local news, arts, culture, community stories, and business news for the Queenstown/Lakes District region of New Zealand. Distributed every Wednesday to local readers and used by local businesses as a platform for display and classified advertising.
• Lakes Weekly Bulletin (Digital Edition) A digital version of the Lakes Weekly Bulletin published on the QMG.co.nz platform, providing the same local news, community stories, and advertising content as the print edition in an online-accessible format. Targets local readers consuming news digitally and supports digital advertising placements for local businesses.
• Classified Advertising Classified advertising space sold in both the print and digital editions of the Lakes Weekly Bulletin, allowing local businesses and individuals to place listings such as job openings, real estate, services, and community notices targeting the Queenstown/Lakes District audience.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• JobFixminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Lakes Weekly Jobs section is powered by JobFix.co.nz, a job listing platform. Job listings from local employers are featured in the Lakes Jobs section of the publication and website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• The Spinoff: A New Zealand digital media outlet covering national culture, politics, and current affairs with a strong regional reporting footprint. While not a direct print competitor, The Spinoff overlaps with LWB in covering New Zealand local news topics and competes for the same national digital advertising pool.

Emerging players

• Wānaka App: A digital-first local news and community platform serving the Wanaka area. Wānaka App represents the digital-native model of community news that competes with LWB for Wanaka-resident readers and local advertising share in the same catchment.

Direct peers

• Mountain Scene: A long-established free weekly community newspaper serving the Queenstown and Wakatipu Basin area. Mountain Scene directly competes with Lakes Weekly Bulletin for the same local readers and the same pool of Queenstown SMB advertisers on a near-identical print-and-digital model.
• Wanaka Sun: A community newspaper serving Wanaka and the Upper Clutha region of the Queenstown Lakes District. Wanaka Sun overlaps with LWB in the Wanaka catchment and competes for the same regional advertisers and readers in the southern part of the district.
• Crux (Queenstown): A Queenstown-focused local news outlet covering community, council, and regional issues for the Wakatipu and Lakes District. Crux competes with Lakes Weekly Bulletin for the same hyper-local Queenstown audience and advertising market, though with a digital-first editorial model.

Broad incumbents

• Stuff (stuff.co.nz): New Zealand's largest digital media company, operating national and regional news brands including The Post, Sunday Star-Times, and local titles. Stuff competes with LWB for digital reader attention and digital advertising spend within the Queenstown Lakes region via its national platform and regional mastheads.
• Allied Press: A regional New Zealand newspaper group publishing titles including the Otago Daily Times. Allied Press competes with LWB for the same pool of Otago-based advertisers and operates at a larger regional scale with shared production infrastructure.
• NZME: New Zealand's largest media group by audience, publisher of the New Zealand Herald and operator of iHeart Radio, OneRoof, and several regional newspapers. NZME competes with LWB for national and regional advertising budgets and digital audience share in New Zealand.
• Otago Daily Times: The established daily regional newspaper for the wider Otago region, published by Allied Press. ODT competes with LWB for Otago-wide advertisers and reader attention, operating at a larger scale and broader regional footprint than LWB's district-focused weekly.

Regional players

• The Southland Times: The regional daily newspaper for Southland, also published within the same broader Queenstown-Lakes / lower South Island catchment as Lakes Weekly Bulletin. It overlaps with LWB's geographic footprint at the margins and competes for the same regional advertising pool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lakesweekly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lakes-weekly-bulletin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lakes Weekly Bulletin